Thursday, June 28, 2007

Today, I'm looking for a pattern... I'm almost done with the sweater for my son, working on the second sleeve, and I have lots of yarn left - almost 3/4 of a skein in all 3 colors. Now I'd like to make a matching hat and perhaps a scarf - if I have enough yarn. But I don't have any fun patterns for a 3 year old boy with 3 colors...

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

I have completed the first Cropped Raglan Sweater. WOO HOO! This one is for my youngest daughter, Hannah. She loves it and is already wearing it around the house, refusing to take it off.

Specs on the sweater:

The sweater is "based" on a free Lion Brand pattern. (search on their site for Cropped Raglan Sweater) The reason for my non-linking of the pattern. You have to be a member of the Lion Brand website to view it. Sign up, it's free.

Anyways...I used 2 and 1/2 skeins of Moda Dea's Sassy Stripes in the color # 6946 Crush. I used US # 6 circular needles, despite the entire piece being knitting "flat." The only part that was "connected in the round" were the sleeves. I used needles and yarn two sizes smaller than the pattern called for, since it was an adult pattern and I needed the chest to be 28-30 inches, a kids large. The entire project, from beginning to end, took me a bit over a week.

Here is Miss Han, sporting the new sweater. She likes it! Han is looking more grown up every day. She not my baby anymore. Sometimes I still think of her as little. I forget she is now 11 and getting older. She begins Junior High this comng fall. EEEEK!

Now, I have to cast on for Tae's raglan, I am refering to it as "Cropped Raglan # 2. She is getting the exact same sweater, just with the actual needles and gauge that the smallest size calls for in the pattern. Same sweater, just on US # 8 needles and worsted weight yarn. I am already moaning on having to knit this sweater all over again. Not that it's hard, or anything...I am just one of those people that knits with a pattern and then masters it and moves on. I promised though...I must.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

I finally have one of my own! I have been eyeing many market bags, but just couldn't find one that seemed to match my personality. So, I made up this little design. A little punk-ish, a little gothy, and kind of pretty.A friend of mine decided it needed a name, so she named it the: sweetly kinky market bag. I'll pop the design up on my blog later tonight, in case anyone would like to make a similar one. ^_^

I have finished the back of the sweater for my son and attached it to the front because I wanted to try it on. When I made some photos, Philipp acted like a professional photo model. He looks too cute in this pose - and with the half finished sweater of course...

I recently went through all my stash and various knitting things, and I found some stuff that I don't need any more, but is too good to just toss! So I'll be running some giveaways over the next few weeks.

This week...

The Secret Life of a Knitter by Stephanie Pearl-McPhee. Woolsey not included. :)

Stop by my blog and leave a comment on that post... Sunday I'll pick a random poster and contact them for mailing info! :)

Friday, June 22, 2007

Here's my lacy halter tank. I had some leftover hemp yarn from my PRGE pal and decided to make this cute halter. It knit up super fast and was pretty easy. It was in the Spring 2007 issue of Interweave Knits.

Just a quick public service announcement that Punk Rock Gift Exchange is doing a one month (mini) swap. If anyone would like to join in the blog is www.prge.blogspot.com. All the details are on the blog, but if I missed anything or you have any questions, please let me know!

Oh look, more charty goodness! Ever since I completed the Gaz chart I have had many-a-requests for Zim and Gir. I finally got around to creating a rather small chart of Zim, everyone's favorite Irken alien. I actually made this chart to be placed on a knitted hat, for my teenaged daughter. We'll see how it turns out.

I had issues with this chart. Zim's eyes are rounder than I could get them on a chart. Hey, at least it looks like Zim. LOL! I have no current plans to convert this one to a digital image, just yet. You can see the chart pretty clearly to use, as it is. I may change my mind, later.

Don't know about Invader Zim? You can read all about it, here. I must get the DVDs.

this is what i did last night while i watched a rerun of the sopranos... made sock-sized stitch markers! they're so cute. "KNIT" in six colours, and "PUNK" in three, and using my favourite black and white glass beads, which will be featured very prominently in all of my punk jewelry and stitch markers. :-) they're all for sale in my blog if you're interested, but i at least wanted to show you all!

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

I had planned to draw/sketch, this morning. So, rather than drawing this morning...Well, this is considered drawing, right? I used a pencil and knitting graph paper to create...a chart. This chart was made upon request. A fellow knit-blogger said she'd like ______ or David Bowie as a knitting chart. So, I broke out my pencil and got to work...It was a lot of fun.

This is a preliminary pencil sketch. It will take me a few days to transfer it to a digital image. I hand paint my charts in PSP 8 and it takes a while to do. So, what do you think? Not bad, I say.

I'm at that in between projects stage, where I can't make up my mind what to do next, and I'm not thrilled at the prospect of finishing any of my UFOs. I've almost finished my very first freestyle knitted dollthing (a ninja), just one leg left to go. I've been hinted at to make a cotton version of my space invaders hat for a mate who lives in a hot country, so I'm considering working out a brimmed version for him, possibly in some Rowan All Seasons cotton because it's also aran so will require minimum pattern tweaking. I wanted to make myself something but I don't know what.. everything pretty and summery I've seen has been squarely aimed at the slimmer knitting women, so many open backs for the bra free! I'm up for designing something new but I'd like to do it all in the round, top down if possible, and I'm really uncertain of how to work out lower necklines.

What are the larger chested women here making themselves for summer? Can anyone recommend any cool patterns? I'd be extremely tempted into some punky large brimmed sunhat..

What I have done while I've been procrastinating over my knitting is made my first (and second!) podcast. There's one full of nice tunes from various movies intended for listening to while I knit outside in the sunshine, and another full of 30's tracks which I intended for listening to during good hot long bubble baths. My podomatic page is here. The knitted radio in the image here isnt mine, it's just something very cool I found here.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Hello Everyone. I am Heidi who loves Wendy O. Williams and the Plasmatics and I thought I'd introduce myself being as I am a new kid on the block.

I am currently at work on the Skull Shrug whose pattern is posted in your links. Though I've added some stripes. I love it and can't wait to be done. I've seamed one of the sleeves already as I knit so I could try it on. The photo included is the progress of where I was on Saturday the day I started it. I am really excited to see all your wonderful creations and get to know everyone better.

let's start out with some knitting content, shall we? these are for a secret pal, but she's not the punk knitting type, so i don't think she'll see them here. EVERYONE should make a pair of these. or several. they're PERFECT for leftover sock yarn, knit up amazingly quickly, and look freakin' awesome.

it's just a stockinette rectangle, with a little bit of ribbing on one end for a hem and lots of ribbing on the other end for a cuff, sewn up the side with a gap for your thumb. GO MAKE SOME! :-D you can probably figure out the pattern yourself, but i got the idea here.

non-knitting but still crafty... i bought some SERIOUSLY awesome rolling stones 'tattoo you' knee socks, only to get them out of the package and realize they had NO STRETCH in the patterned area. therefore, i could only get the cuff halfway up my calf. not too useful as a sock! so, snip snip and voila! meet my rolling stones 'tattoo you' armwarmers. THEY'RE SO COMFY! as a bonus, you can see part of my pixiegirl pin-up tattoo. :-P

and now, a question for all of the punk sparkly-loving ladies in the house. i'm in the process of making punk stitch markers... black with hot pink, red, white, purple or neon green... plus charms in skulls, keys, handcuffs, and anything else like that i can find. i'm pretty sure there'll be some interest here. i'm wondering, though, if anyone would be interested in bracelets and/or earrings in the same style? metal links, beads, and fun metal punk charms. if people are interested, i'll start adding some to my store! they're so fun to make...

This is what I'm working on at the moment, a sweater for my son. The back will be just in stockinette stitch, but I think about adding a mirrored arrow there as well, I have so much orange yarn left. But on the other hand, I found out, that intarsia knitting really is not what I do best...

No matter what I will do with the back, the sleeves will be ribbed and in a dark red, around the V-neck I will add a bit of orange as well.

My son can't wait for me to finish the sweater, he always wants to try it on... Patience is nothing a 2 1/2 year old has a lot of....

I hope you understood what I wanted to explain, it is not always easy for me to translate everything in english...

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Here is my camisole made from Tillie Tomas yarn that I had been drooling over!!! I looked for the smallest thing that I could make with this expensive yarn. It is made from silk and sea cell and has a peculiar odor to it. The pattern was from knitty.com and it was called the honeymoon camisole.

I just saw in a round of linky link of blogs about the 24 Baby Shower and as the time has come for the Guardian Project it is a great idea. How about we all try to make something small and donate to a worthy childrens cause.

I already gave over 3 pairs of my bootees from my stall for Guardian today. What really is a bit of left over yarn that could benefit someone else. I know the odd beanie or oddballs used into a blanket that can warm someone who has no real warmth.

So look into the stash and see what we have and what can be whipped up for someone elses benefit.

Friday, June 15, 2007

What all the little fashionistas will be wearing home this fall. Gracie is wearing the 5 hour baby sweater in Bernat "Outback" Camo. This yarn is so soft and great to work with. I plan on making some more little camo baby outfits. It also comes in "fantasy camo" which has pink in it. My 9yr old neighbor thinks I should make it in the green camo and do a whole outfit (matching pants). I think that is a great idea.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

I am sorry to report that I have not been accomplishing very much knitting still. The occasional dish rag or sock will get done, but that is about it. During my knitting slump, I have been spinning like a mad lil spinster. LOL ;-) If you are curious to see what I have been spinning, check out my etsy store. Okay, I akm off to bed.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

I finally finished something, nothing fancy, just a pair of socks for a good friend of mine. I used a yarn bought at ebay because I can't knit with wool, I have an allergy.

Now I'm waiting for some yarn I bought online, I want to knit a sweater for my son, okay, I want to knit a lot of things and the list is getting longer every day, but the sweater is my next project, the rest has to wait...

I have finally started a project that has been nagging me for over a year. It's my NIN Sweater, the beginning. This sweater is my own design, including the NIN/Trent Reznor image. We will see how well this goes. Intarsia knitting is not one of my strong points. I hate all the tangled yarn and fuss. I am a bit nervous over this project...

If anyone would like the NIN/Trent Reznor chart...it's on my blog, here.

I chose black and red for this round of Project Spectrum. June/July is Red, Black and Metallic months. I am all over that, seeing as how red and black are two of my favorite colors.

I am about 15 rows into the chart. You can see the beginnings of the chart neckline on the left of my knitted piece. My plans...well, the chart is going to cover the left front half of the sweater. All 110 rows of chart, that is...LOL! The NIN logo will be placed on one of the sleeves, at the bottom, by the cuff. I also added a 2 row strip of red at the bottom. That same strip will run along the top of the chart. The back piece will be entirely black with the same two red strips along the back, to match. That's the plan, anyway...Wish Me Luck!

Monday, June 11, 2007

I made this hemp market bag that my hubbie is modelling. This is the "little shopper" version-- it also comes in "shop til you drop". I am working on that right now!!! I ordered the pattern from hempforknitting.com. I am sending this bag with my hubbie to Africa-- he wanted some gifts to give during his travels abroad, so I quickly knit this up for him.

greetings to my fellow punk rock knitters! it's good to find you all out there. ms. pixie riot, reporting with a few things that i thought would be appropriate to this blog. :-) they're older finished objects, but ones that really just FIT here.

first up is tychus from knitty, with blanket stitch and mismatched embroidery additions:

second is the famous kittyville hat, again done in my favourite colour combination. the button, in case you're wondering, says "you laugh because i'm different. i laugh because you're ugly."

and my painfully easy five-minute punks just wanna have fun scarf. entirely random and badly knit on large needles - but on purpose, of course. :-P

lots more in my blog, including the very last of my first punk rock handpainted yarns, named (of course...?) after songs by the clash. i believe joe and mick would approve.

Sunday, June 10, 2007

We have had a severe weather event along the East Coast of Australia and well it caused us to shelter for WWKIP and sit inside a cafe and then we had the wild wind rain and places well north of me about 2 - 3 hours drive have had severe flooding and so far 9 have lost their lives. I got a bit distracted and went to take photos today. As it is cold a heater would be used and here we present the peter heater ( aka willy warmer or cock sock) a little bit of fun to whip up. Despite the bad weather and the advice to only go out if necessary yesterday I was in a small cafe in Shellharbour where 10 ladies took it over to knit in. It was a busy day in the area and people would look and just grab a takeaway due to the fact the only warm dry spot we had taken over very quickly. I must say going to a knitting group is a must and I dont find it easy to not attend.

Friday, June 08, 2007

Here's the picture of the finished Cabled Newsboy Cap from Stitch N' Bitch Nation, I completed yesterday. I LOVE THIS HAT! If you don't have the book, buy it now. It's on sale at Amazon.com for $3.19. Follow the link, people!

So, the hat...very cute and wearable. I definately will make myself some more of these...in all the colors. Simply love it. I followed the pattern exactly, even down to the needles. The yarn is less than one skein of LB Wool Ease in # 151 grey heather.

Ummm...do you want to know what I used to make the brim stable? No laughing...I used a recycled piece of cardboard in the brim of the hat. It came from a cereal box, actually. Hey, it works.

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

It's been a rather stormy morning here, in Portland. I have been enjoying the rain and cooler weather. YAY for 58°! So, I was a bit bored this morning, nothing much on the television, either. I decided to make myself a cell phone cozy. I based this one on the Stitch N' Bitch Nation Mobile Monsters. I used scraps of LB Wool Ease. You know, the same color as my recent MP3 player cozy? I am all about matching the accessories. I am not all that fond of how the face turned out. It's supposed to be a cat. Meh! It's still very cute and I will use it for my cell phone.

The cozy took approximately 2 hours of my life to make. A quickie diversion on a stormy and boring morning...

Sunday, June 03, 2007

I was away apartment searching in Ottawa the past few weeks, and had a chance to stumble into a NICE yarn store. I found this amazing black bamboo yarn, and needed to making something out of it. My fellow knitting friend has the book Naughty Needles, and I found this pattern. I added some decreases and increases that were not there originally (I have pretty tiny wrists..)

So I had these pretty lace-up gloves to wear to industrial night while I was there! I think I need to make the matching garter belt now..

I recently found out that one of my cousins is pregnant. She and her boyfriend are both really young and incredibly unprepared, so I thought I'd try to help them out some by knitting some baby stuff. However, I'd really like to knit some different, crazy baby stuff. I think she and her boyfriend would get a kick out of it, and let's face it, my whole family would expect something like that out of me. I don't do normal. LOL! I'm kinda at a loss for patterns, though (well, with the exception of the chicken viking hat - I so have to make one of those!) So I was wondering if anyone out there has seen patterns for crazy and/or punk rock baby knits? As far as I know, she's having a boy but I'm open to anything (just in case.) :D

I wish I had something new to post, but due to an absolutely nightmarish move, I've barely knit anything the last six weeks. GASP! Maybe soon, though. Happy knitting everyone! :D

I showed my dad the "We Call Them Pirates" hat from Hello Yarn the other day and he told me that he wanted one, so he gave me money and sent me to the LYS to get yarn. This was a really quick knit, only about 2 days. My dad left for the weekend, so I don't have a picture of him wearing it, but oh well. You'll just have to settle for my head.

Oops, this one's upside-down. Oh well.

Yarn: Debbie Bliss Baby Cashmerino in Color #008 (Black) and #005 (Cream), plus some leftovers of the same yarn in a green for the lining.Needles: US Size 3 Circular and DPNs, Addi Turbo Lace Needles in Size 1 for the lining.Pattern: We Call Them Pirates